Austerity measures 'are badly affecting health'

The government's austerity measures are having a negative impact on health in Britain and this should be considered before further cutbacks are implemented.

This is according to an appeal by a group of public health experts led by Dr Aaron Reeves of the University of Oxford, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

In a letter, they point to three major impacts of austerity measures, starting with the fact that job losses can lead to higher levels of depression and suicide.

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Indeed, recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the overall number of people taking their own lives increased by eight per cent between 2010 and 2011.

Dr Reeves also warned that abolishing the Disability Living Allowance will impact people with disabilities, while cuts to the social housing budget and income support are likely to increase homelessness.

'If the economists cannot agree what to do, then the public health community should call attention to the health consequences of the alternatives and ensure that they are taken into account by our political representatives,' he concluded.

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